Damaris has been the Administrative Assistant at the Waltham Site for eleven years , and exemplifies the spirit of customer service with her kind, patient, understanding and hard working approach. She takes countless hours helping clients, clinicians with administrative tasks and with whatever else is needed. She assists with interpreting for Spanish speaking individuals seeking services, and supports the Program Coordinator when taking referrals from Spanish speaking parents. She never gets flustered or annoyed, never says “no,” no matter how many interruptions there are or how many questions are asked of her, and always has a smile on her face! She is exceptionally positive with everyone she interacts with, and Waltham would “shrivel up without her!” Thanks you for all you do!

Heather uses her care coordination knowledge and skill to provide exemplary customer service to families and providers calling the MW Community Services referral line. Heather spent a lengthy amount of time speaking with a family that was desperate for home-based services, but unfortunately was outside of our catchment area and did not have qualifying insurance. Heather was patient and compassionate with the family, listened to their story and understood their needs. She provided them with guidance about how to navigate systems and walked them through the process of how to apply for DMH services and secondary Mass Health. Heather also provided contact information for providers in their area to follow up with once they obtained insurance. The family was extremely grateful for the information and especially for not being dismissed right away just because Wayside was not able to immediately serve them. Heather truly goes above and beyond in her role as a Referral Coordinator to help each and every family she speaks with find the best path to meet their unique needs.

Antonia Mariani woman is incredible. Her work ethic goes above and beyond every single day to include evening and weekends, always with a big smile. She is willing to help anybody and everybody and never looks for anything in return. She is patient with people, spends time making sure people feel understood. She is positive and attentive to all and she really listens, communicating in a very respectful, kind and courteous way. Antonia has a calming presence that seems to put people at ease. I have watched her with new families and clients who are very anxious and fearful when they arrive. Five minutes after meeting Antonia, they are relaxed and feel more comfortable She reaches out to parents after intakes to help parents reduce their anxiety having left their child. Many curveballs are thrown her way day in and day out, and she takes those challenges on with a smile and never leaves until others around her feel confident and calm. She does this for collaterals, clients and staff alike. She puts everyone’s needs first with a fun, caring, supportive energy that never seems to get depleted. She is a poster person of customer service.

Leangheng received this recent appreciative feedback from Hampstead Hospital:
“You guys have a very good system for the referral and always return phone calls. You all are very helpful with your services and making sure clients receive services that they need.”

Kudos to Olivia Chiacchia from the Framingham Continuum for participating as part of a panel discussion on behalf of the Stay grant for Best Practices in Peer Mentoring

Kudos to Blake Tishler from the Framingham Continuum for graduating from Framingham State University with a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology

Each staff person represents Wayside's values of providing helpful, courteous and friendly customer service to all we encounter, keep up the good work and be sure to let your Program Directors know about your successful customer service experiences! You deserve this recognition, and there are fun new Wayside giveaways for all winners!